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When they’d all met for drinks, Ethan had mentioned doing some yardwork if the weather stayed nice.
Zack passed through the open gate and into the backyard and patio area. Lucy grabbed his arm, her fingers clutching tightly.
“Oh my god, we need to call 911.”
Ethan was lying facedown on the green lawn, a bright red stain - was it blood? - on his t-shirt. A wheelbarrow and gardening tools, plus a flat of flowers from the home improvement store were next to him as well.
“Call 911,” Zack commanded, hurrying to Ethan’s side, and kneeling next to his old friend. “Christ, I think he’s still alive. Tell them he’s alive.”
There was a faint pulse although Ethan looked ghostly pale, a trickle of blood leaking from his mouth. Through the roar in his ears, he could hear Lucy talking to the emergency operator.
At the sound of footsteps, Zack turned to see Deputy Blake jogging up to them, also kneeling next to Ethan.
“Someone heard the sound of a gunshot and called it in. I was close by, so they dispatched me here. You and Lucy are out in the open, and it might not be safe.”
A gunshot? Ethan being the victim of a shooting hadn’t even crossed Zack’s mind. He’d assumed that somehow his friend had been hurt in some sort of bizarre gardening accident.
Ethan had been shot? Why on earth would anyone shoot Ethan? It didn’t make any sense.
Except that Lucy had said that Ethan had been acting strangely earlier in the day. Shifty, looking over his shoulder. Had he known he was in danger? People didn’t get randomly shot in Winslow Heights. There was no gang violence, and hardly any drug trade unless the kids smoking some weed counted.
“I need to secure the scene,” Blake went on, the sound of sirens getting closer. “You’ll need to step aside for the EMTs.”
It was all so surreal. Before he could register Blake’s words, an ambulance had pulled into the driveway and two first responders were crowding Zack, asking him to step aside so they could work. He did as they bid, moving to stand with Lucy who was also watching the scene unfold with horror.
His stomach twisted into knots watching them try to stabilize Ethan enough to transport him to the hospital. By the time they loaded him into the back, he already had several tubes coming out of his body.
“They’re taking him to the university hospital,” Blake said as the ambulance sped away. “I have to wait here for the forensic guys, and make sure no one else stumbles into the crime scene.”
“Does Finn know?” Zack asked. “Because Lucy told me earlier today that Ethan was acting strangely. Paranoid. Like he had someone following him.”
“Finn knows now,” Blake replied. “We’ll want to get a full statement from both of you. Why were you here?”
“We came to talk to Ethan,” Zack explained. “We didn’t have any idea…”
“You were lucky that the shooter was gone,” Blake said. “Or you might have been hurt, too.”
“Are you sure he was shot?” Lucy asked. “Do you know for sure?”
That’s what Zack had been hoping. He didn’t want to think that Ethan had been shot.
“There was the sound of what sounded like a gunshot reported. I guess it could have been a car backfiring but when you add that to Ethan’s injuries…yes, I would say he’s been shot. The EMTs also think that. It will be confirmed at the hospital, of course. Once again, I have to say that you’re lucky not to have been shot as well. Both of you need to be more careful.”
“We weren’t expecting to walk into a shooting,” Lucy replied. “That’s the last thing I would expect in this town.”
“It can happen in any town.”
Lucy placed her hand on Zack’s arm.
“Do you want to go to the hospital?”
“Yes, let’s do that.” Scraping his fingers through his hair, he turned back to the deputy. “Have Ethan’s wife and parents been notified yet?”
Zack had always liked Ethan’s mom and dad. If he needed to be the one to tell them, he would do it.
“They haven’t. We’ll find them. In the meantime, I’ll be here when they come back. I can let them know. It’s my job. Don’t worry about what’s going on here. Go to the hospital. Be with your friend.”
Still dazed, Zack didn’t argue. Lucy gently asked for the keys, and he willingly surrendered them, not sure he could drive now. He needed to wrap his head around what had happened in the last thirty minutes.
